1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a charger, and more particularly to a charger comprising an analyzer arrangement which allows the charger to operate between a charger mode and an analyzer mode.
2. Description of Related Arts
As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, a conventional analyzer, such as an analyzer for testing a rechargeable battery 100P of a radio communication device 800P (as shown in FIG. 2), mainly comprises an analyzer housing 10P having a plurality of battery platforms 11P indently formed thereon, an analyzing circuitry provided in the analyzer housing 10P. The analyzer housing 10P usually comprises a plurality of electrical terminals 111P provided on a corresponding position of each of the battery platforms 11P such that when the rechargeable battery 100P is inserted into one of the battery platforms 11P, discharging terminals of the rechargeable battery 100P is arranged to be aligned and in contact with the corresponding electrical terminals 111P of the analyzer so as to allow the discharging and testing of the rechargeable battery 100P through the electrical terminals 111P and the discharging terminals.
As a matter of conventional arts, a rechargeable battery 100P, such as the rechargeable battery 100P for a radio communication device 800P, comprises of two set of terminals. One set of the terminals is the set of discharging terminals mentioned above. The discharging terminals primarily concern with facilitating discharging and testing of the rechargeable battery by an analyzer. The other set of terminals is a set of recharging terminals 102P for facilitating recharging of the rechargeable battery through a conventional charger. The severance of the position of the discharging terminals and the recharging terminals 102P are primarily for safety reason.
A major disadvantage for a conventional analyzer described above is that it is primarily for professional use. While discharging and testing of a rechargeable battery 100P may prolong the general life span of it, an analyzer is usually very expensive and is not suitable for widespread use. Generally speaking, only larger organizations which need to use many radio communication devices 800P, such as a hospitals, schools, etc., will be equipped with such an expensive piece of equipment.
For the majority of users of radio communication devices 800P, they usually have a charger 20P for recharging the rechargeable battery 100P. However, conventional chargers do not perform discharging of the rechargeable batteries 100P and incapable of testing the condition of those batteries 100P. When the rechargeable battery 100P is recharged in such a manner, the general life span of the rechargeable battery 100P is substantially limited.
Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B of the drawings, a conventional charger 20P for charging a rechargeable battery 100P of a radio communication device 800P usually comprises a charger housing 21P, a charging slot 22P indently formed on the charger housing 21P, and a charging circuitry 23P for charging the rechargeable battery 100P. On the other hand, the radio communication device 800P comprises a main unit 801P and the rechargeable battery 100P attached at a rear portion of the main unit 801P. As shown in FIG. 2A of the drawings, when the rechargeable battery 100P needs recharging, the rechargeable battery 100P needs not detach from the radio communication device 800P. In other words, the radio communication device 800P and the rechargeable battery 100P are both inserted into the charging slot 22P for being recharged.
When a user of the radio communication device 800P wants to recharge and periodically discharge the rechargeable battery 100P (because discharging and testing of the rechargeable battery 100P needs not be performed too frequently), he or she has to buy a charger 20P and an analyzer 10P separately. Given the disadvantages of a conventional analyzer 10P (as described above), the user is thereby discouraged from buying and using the analyzer 10P.
Furthermore, from a technical point of view, the recharging terminals 102P are provided at an outer side of rechargeable battery 100P, while the discharging terminals are provided at an inner side of the rechargeable battery 100P. As a result, when the user needs to discharge (which is less frequently required), he or she has to detach the rechargeable battery 100P from the main unit 801P of the radio communication device 800P. In the ordinary course of events, however, the user needs only to recharge the rechargeable battery 100P by attaching the rechargeable battery 100P onto the main unit 801P and insert the main unit 801P as well as the rechargeable battery 100P into the charging slot 22P. This procedure possesses a great deal of inconvenience for users using both the charger 20P and the analyzer 10P.